February 5, 2025 • 48 mins
Steel City Insider Jim Wexell joins the guys to share memories of the Steelers Super Bowl XL victory 19 years ago today.
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Speaker 1 (00:19):
This is in the Locker Room, presented by Ford and
brought to you by acro Sure, the official insurance and
cybersecurity partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, by Bett MGM, Huntington Bank, PNC, PEPSI,
and by FedEx. Where now meets next? Now here's Craig
Wolfley and Max Stark's.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Oh, guess what day it is? Guess what day it is?
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Eh?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Anybody, Julie, Hey, guess what day it is?
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Come on, I know you can hear me.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, What day is it?
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Mike Leslie?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Guess what today is?
Speaker 5 (00:58):
It's all right, final Wex Wednesday of this season, and
of course we are joined by author columnist I guess
(01:19):
we could say, but also you know, sports writer and
editor in chief of Field City Insider. It is our
good buddy, mister Jim wexel Wex. Welcome back to the
locker room on a Wednesday for the final week of
the season.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
How are we doing today, Bud?
Speaker 6 (01:42):
It feels really good to be back, boys, ung. Is
it working like it should? It's not as sharp as
it might be. My top good thing, my lawyer tells me.
Probably I've been through seven weeks of ratation on what
I had met cancer. It's highly curable, so they call
(02:06):
you don't have to get the violins out, but the
process of beating it is brutal.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (02:11):
And this is really the first time I've talked these
many words in a couple of weeks. So I'm giving
my tongue on work about gonna get better.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (02:23):
And I feel like a darkness is lifted today today,
it's fairly good for the first time in a long
time today.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
So hey, uh, awesome, awesome, awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Well, we're we're so happy.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
I mean, you know, you have fought you have you know,
been on you know the shows. We know how we
you know, as a kid who's had a parent fight cancer,
beat cancer, and my mother, you know, really really proud
and happy of the way that you've gone about it.
And never a peep, never a moment, you know, went
(03:06):
by you. You've been an utter professional with this. We've
been praying for you, of course, Wolf and I and
West and everybody that's kind of you know, known about it.
We've we've been we've been rooting for you, man, and
so to have you come on with WEX Wednesday and
share that news Man, we are just so happy and
(03:28):
like I said, bravo, man, bravo, and thank you for
taking the time, you know, to be with us each
and every week throughout this process.
Speaker 6 (03:38):
Well you know, I love you guys, and I appreciate that. Max,
and just say this. It's from HPV virus let me
be virus. And they say that eighty percent of us
carry it around the hp and whyatt comes cancer and
some people. But it's becoming prevalent. They don't understand the
(03:59):
scene for it out there for the for the HPV
and I recommend and there's a vaccum into it, especially
younger people because it's becoming everybody looking. And like they
told me, it's ninety percent curable and more comp I
hear that when they say that it's pretty much one
hundred percent curable and highly curable. But you don't want
(04:22):
to go through this. I still put my taste back
for another month or two. And I've only lost if
all that happens, I've I've worked really diligently, and I
mean piled up a lot of people. Have you know,
people have lost fifty pounds. They need to keep my waves.
It's a it's a brutal process. So look into this
(04:43):
vaccine if feeding too. That's all you can get out
of it from me with this interview. But uh, that's
everybody tells me. I'll be back to full strength soon.
Often they are really good. So it's been a weak
sense of last radiation. Today, I feel everything is going good.
I'll be I'll be one hundred percent for draft season
(05:04):
and so hopefully the Steelers are right there with me, right.
Speaker 5 (05:10):
And oh absolutely, okay?
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Football, all right, football, well, WEX, thanks, thanks, just thanks,
thanks for sharing all that and being upfront and speaking
that message and early detection.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
I mean, we all know like it.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
I I do love how it has gone from in
the last you know, decade or so. Feels like something
that we never really talked about much that we pushed
to the forefront now and so thank you for sharing
that as well.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
But now to the football.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Like you said, I wanted to ask you, WEX as
we kind of you know, continue the celebrations in the
in the in the happy tightings here Max and I
kind of spent the first hour. Today is the nineteenth
anniversary of the Steelers capturing that one for the thumb
winning Super Bowl forty in Detroit twenty one to ten
over the Seattle Seahawks.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
I just wanted to ask.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
You your your memories of of you know, this day,
this this time period nineteen years ago. You know, when
Bill Cower got his Super Bowl, when Jerome Bettis got
his Super Bowl, when the Steelers you know, finally got
off that schneid and got the one for the thumb.
Speaker 6 (06:18):
Yeah, I was there, you know, Jerome charging out field,
thinking the team was with him, running out there all
about to take the field, uh and reacting well, he
himself very well. I don't need to imply that he
was shocked so that this team was handled at Joey Porter,
(06:41):
making sure they all got with him. But green number
six is to the wear coming off the plane, Sean
Bill Cower's first down salute. You know, I don't know
so much of down indication that he gave at the end,
which but the first of the game was over. I
remember that hid a lot of cool things Woollie Parker's run.
(07:06):
Learning later how the pet that up in the first
half they kept the Steelers same formation, Max and how
the Alan Pant was telling me they finally they finally
got it, uh and they find something big was gonna
happen right before the snap because they knew Justed not Detroit.
(07:30):
Seattle adjusted accordingly. At halftime, Detroit hints Ward, of course,
Ferrier playing with really bad he he he thought was
gonna and the game for him had injury that I
guess he got a shot and continued playing, played very
(07:53):
hurt and we didn't never knew about uh things like that.
Those those antoline Randall of course flash in front of
me with a p I didn't drop, but then I
can kill I don't know, touching on Eddie krd smax.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
I mean you're hitting all of them wext.
Speaker 5 (08:17):
I mean, those are those those are some of the
highlights and moments, you know, that will always stick in
my mind. And I think probably one of my favorites was,
you know, when we went out for the team intros,
you know, you know that was Joey Porter Peas was like, hey, hey,
you guys, stay back, stay back, like they didn't tell
(08:37):
Jerome as we're kind of getting out of you know,
Jerome's right out there at the front and ps kind
of steps right in front of, like right right behind
Jerome and turns around and puts his hands up like, hey,
let him have Let him have this moment, and uh,
because I was hitting right there at the front because
normally I was just I just wanted to run out
on the field, right, I just want to get it
(08:58):
over with, so I would be right near the front
as well. So you know, there's that moment where you
see like all of us kind of standing up there,
but P's he's right there, and he was and he
was holding the guys back and and you know, Jerome
took the field and then he ran and then when
he when he stopped and would to turn around, he
was like, where's everybody at?
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I mean, that's that's an iconic moment.
Speaker 5 (09:20):
Just to remember that and be able to give him
that moment was was, I mean so special, right. I Mean,
you talk about a guy like Jerome Bettison all the years,
all the yardage, you know that he a mass I remember,
you know, when when he overtook you know, Curtis Martin
for the Jets for you know, you know, for for
(09:42):
a second most all time rushing yards and just going
through like that whole process and what the culmination of
that career and what it took to get him back
that season and then for him to battle through and
us to battle to get the sixth seed.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
The journey, and just look, it felt like destiny.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
And so to be there in that moment in the
Super Bowl getting ready to run out, He's running out
in front of his home crowd, in his home city,
you know, home state. You know, everybody could feel it
was the final game, but you still didn't know until.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
He said it. But we knew that we had to
finish the job, you know, for that guy, because he had.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
Given so much to the city, to the team, and
to us as teammates.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
So it was that. That's a prideful moment to will
always stick out of my mind.
Speaker 6 (10:36):
You know, you were probably involved in this shuffling or
reshuffling of the line snacks. I remember exactly how, but
I remember when you got it was except I can't.
You guys had fallen too. And I remember making a
bet with Edobution and five that you guys were going
to run the table. And yet Ed that has since
(11:01):
told this story. We made a bed for life. I said,
you guys were going to run the table. He bet
against you me running the table to the super Bowl.
I met running the table in the red I didn't,
but Ed tells the story that I met the Super Bowl.
That was that guy Sea Hums or something, So I
(11:22):
never correct him. I'm a genius. What I remember I
was thinking at the time was because I know Ben
had been out a little bit exactly when he was
coming back, but he was going to come back. I
don't remember your maybe he had come back before then,
(11:43):
but we knew he was going to be healthy. And
also Marvel Smith was coming back. And yeah, and I
remember that Tree Essex was playing with the tackle Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, I was on the right side. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (12:03):
I thought Marvel was a big team. Can you either.
I mean, I love key to that not trying to
put him down, but I just remember whenever Marvel times
when he was hurt, you guys struggled. There are other
those that you can look back to the record that
(12:24):
do like KEYJ players. You know, they're not quarterbacks, but
they are key pieces. And I just remember Marvel being
one of those key pieces. And and I think you
guys got healthy. And that's why I made the bet,
not because I'm it's envisioned you guys is getting another
(12:45):
uh other level for no unmain reason, but I think
you guys got healthy. Reaching my correct.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
Yeah, No, you're you're absolutely, you're you're, you're right along
that because during the losing three Mark Marvel was out
that Colts game, you know, Trey was a rookie going
up against Dwight Freeney, you know, and having to deal
with that. Then we had Baltimore the following week and
(13:15):
Trey once again he's still a rookie and going against
the top defense, and so we had some struggles in
that in those games. I actually got injured in the
Baltimore game, but did not miss any time.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I toured my meniscus.
Speaker 5 (13:31):
I got hit in the back of the knee, and
I remember.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Fighting for that then. No, no, this was before it.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
No no, no, well technically I did as well. So
it's funny enough. There's a current, there's a running theme
with getting injured during a Baltimore game and playing through it.
But this is the sixth season, this is still regular season,
and so you know, we had that stretch and I
forgot who the third loss was. And then we come
back home against Chicago and that and that's when you
(14:06):
get Marvel back, right, you know, Buss, He's in there
the snow and it's a got to have it game.
It's like, we got, we got, we got to win
this game if we want to have any shot, you know, tours,
this is the end of November, and we're like, we
got we gotta.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Win out, guys, we have to win out.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
And so then and that Chicago game is what starts
the run, uh for us. And then of course we
never looked back after that. But you're right, I mean
that that was one where you know, Marvel was a
key piece and getting him back in that Chicago game
was was huge because I mean, Tray Tray was awesome
(14:47):
and obviously, you know, Trey was with us. I mean
we you know, was with us for a long time
and Trey was a key piece as far as a
key reserve for us. But that was his rookie year
and he was he was learning, you know, trial by fire.
Speaker 6 (15:01):
Mm hmmm mm hmm. Yeah. So it was a great
run this of those days, man.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
No doubt, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
And uh and Wex, I think Max just I think
we lost Max.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
I think his connection just dropped.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
But you know what, I think that's a I think
that's kind of a good a good place to wrap
this up as well, too, Wex. I I know, if
if Max we're still on here. I know he would
want to say thank you, just not only for today,
but for another great season of joining us every single
week Wednesdays Tuesdays, being flexible for us. Thank you so much,
(15:40):
all the all the continued best and hopefully we'll see
you around here before too much longer.
Speaker 6 (15:45):
I'll be back at full strength soon enough, buddy. Thanks
Wes forth having me on here. Oh yeah, I really
enjoyed this ship and I enjoy being on here.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
We do too, WEX. It's it's always a pleasure. Take
care partner. All right, all right, we're gonna go to.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
A break here.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
I'll get Max back from his New Orleans Hotel room
dialed in, and we will keep the Super Bowl forty
conversation going here on the nineteenth anniversary of the Steelers
getting one for the Thumb.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
It is in the Locker Room on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
This is in the Locker Room, presented by Ford and
brought to you by acro Shure, the official insurance and
cybersecurity partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, by bet MGM, Huntington Bank, PNC, PEPSI,
and by FedEx. Where now meets next? Now Here's Craig
wolf Lee and Max Starks.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
And they pitch it to the left and now here's
the handoff on the reverse to Antoine ran Alow. He's
gonna throw it down the field. There's a man open.
Speaker 4 (17:09):
Touchdown, puts back.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
Oh man, we got another one. I mean that, that's
a really good one. Uh Antoine randallll. The end a
round passed to heines Ward and of course we know
the iconic moment there where heines Is is skipping.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Across the line smiling and there's.
Speaker 5 (17:31):
A picture of him that's immortalized from that moment, and
of course what ultimately sealed his MVP bide in the
Super super Bowl and becoming Super Bowl forty MVP. But
that play, that was that Now that was a fun one, Wes,
because it was like, hey, we got to do something.
(17:52):
We were working on this trick play. We're working on
a trick play. Antoine's a quarterback. We got to figure
out how to get this in. And with calls it
in and we're like, okay, all right, heye, time to
block him up, you know, and and that and and
it came, you know, the play went left and then
(18:13):
came back around right. So so it's like, hey, look,
it's on you. It's on your side, you know, as
a young guy on there, you know, obviously my second
year but still young to that offensive line, and I
just remember, just block wah wah, do not let this
guy blow up field. And not let this guy blow
up field. Just block him, block him, hold him if
(18:33):
you have to, but don't get caught.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
You know, you're thinking about.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
Like all these things in your head in the moment
and that play, just hearing the crowd erupt as the
ball was in the air, like it wasn't even en
Hinz's hands, and the crowd is like cheering yes, so
and then and then you quickly are looking like to scramble, like.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Okay, where where where's it? Okay, he's over there, Oh
my god.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
And you can hear you can hear some of that
like confusion or just uncertainty from Billy on the call
there too.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Just a lot going on on that play.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
Yeah, well, I mean, because you know you have the
handoff and the reverse action, and then you're thinking Antoine's
gonna run, right if you don't know, if you don't
know the play, it looks like he's about to run.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Yeah, And then he pulls up right, and then maybe,
like now that I'm thinking about it, Billy might have
been thinking he was about to throw back across the
field to Ben, because you guys would run a gadget
play in that regard a couple weeks earlier against the
Bengals in Cincinnati. So it was like, Okay, is Radel
all gonna run it here? Is he gonna pitch it
back across the ben like you guys did a few
weeks Oh, No, he's throwing downfield to a wide open
(19:42):
Hines Ward. Was just another one of those just incredible moments.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (19:47):
And I think the other thing is is that you know,
now being on this side, like you're trying to track
action live and while still trying to anticipate what's going
to happen right correct, you know, because like you said,
we don't have a play sheet, we don't get Hey guys,
we're calling this play up so that we can talk
about it, you know what I'm saying, Like.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
It's not matter we don't see the play call as
it happens.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (20:12):
So it's like, so you're following this in real time
and trying to describe what's going on while it's happening,
and then something else is happening as you're finishing up
the previous statement, and so it's a frenzy and you
kind of hear that in the call with Billy, because yeah,
when you anytime you have gadget plays where it's either
multiple handoffs or a fake handoff and you're trying to
(20:35):
spot locate the ball, make sure the ball is in
there for sure, Like there's so many different things that
go on and you're trying to capture it all.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
But also you're like, what do I key in on?
What do I say in this moment?
Speaker 5 (20:49):
But at the end of the day, all you need
to say is touchdown, right, I mean, at the end
of the day, that was that was a touchdown play.
However it came about, it was a touchdown play, and
of course that effectively was the moment that really sealed
the Super Bowl for us.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Right, absolutely, and give you that possession lead back once again.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it made it. It made it, you know,
Finola mine.
Speaker 5 (21:20):
For any of our Spanish speakers out there, Yeah, but.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
I like two Max, not to cut you off there, sorry,
I I like to how you mentioned the kind of
how that really that touchdown. That moment, that little giddy
up celebration, little kind of hop skip from Hines when
he caught the ball in the end zone and flashed
that million dollar smile, Like that really put him over
the top. Is having that million dollar smile and being
(21:47):
the happy guy and all those things. And man, like,
we talk about a lot of times, you and Wolf
and I about you know, sports things of yester year,
and at the top of that list for me, man,
it's Sports Illustrated, you know, and when when sports when
Sports Illustrated was still a big deal, and getting that
magazine when you were, you know, a sports junkie. There
(22:09):
was really only so many ways to consume it at
that time. You had Sports Center and you had Sports Illustrated. Man,
those were like your your everything when you were a
sports fan growing up in the nineties, in the early
two thousands. And Max, I don't know if I've ever
shared this with you before, but when I was growing
up in our bathroom upstairs, like the bathroom that I used,
(22:30):
you know growing up, I completely covered all the wallpaper,
all the walls in there with Sports Illustrated covers.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
You know.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
It took me, It took me like two or three
years to have enough covers. But like when I would
get a Sports Illustrated cover that I would like, Oh, man,
Randy Moss is on the front of this one. Cut
it off and tape it or post it to the wall.
Oh John Elway's on this one. Oh Mariola meuse on
this one, you know whatever. And man, I had that
Hinz Lord with the smile and the skip with the
thumbs up, you know, Steelers Super both forty champions, uh,
(23:02):
you know, hanging in my bathroom on the wall throughout
my entire you know, uh kind of upbringing, teenage formative years.
And so I will always like that that cover is
still just burned into my memory because I had it hanging,
you know, hanging on my wall throughout my you know,
my teenage, high school years.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Dude, that is so awesome. I'm glad.
Speaker 5 (23:22):
I'm glad you shared that one because that that that's
that's that's that's pretty cool. Never knew that. And like
you said, that iconic moment and that being captured for
the cover of Sports Illustrated after we won.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Man, you can't beat it.
Speaker 5 (23:37):
I mean, it was it was a moment that, you know,
and especially that at that time like getting one for
the thumb, right, talking about it for years, talked about
it for years. I mean I remember coming in my
rookie year and everybody saying one for the thumb, one
for the you know, you go into strip district, you
see the T shirt shirts everybody, Yeah, they hey, one
(24:01):
for the thumb, and you know, people trying to put
whatever their version of a Super Bowl ring on it,
trying to guess it, you know. But then to come
into year two, you hear that theme, go through the
journey and the pressure.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Of that one for the thumb, one for the thumb.
Speaker 5 (24:20):
Uh, you know, gotta got you know, got to recapture
the lead you know for most super Bowl you know,
for most Super Bowl victories.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (24:29):
And to be in that moment and like you said,
to know that, dude, we actually did this, right, we
did we did. We did one for the thumb. Like,
are you seriously We've filled you know, to be a
part of that history because you know, FLI, there's a
lot of pressure. Yeah, there's a lot of pressure on
(24:50):
a on on players and teams. When you know that
the previous generation, right that seventy, the seventy squad, they
got four you know, and those guys are still around,
and you know you're you're celebrating them, but you're like, man,
you know, when's it gonna be my turn? When am
(25:11):
I going to get an opportunity to get this type
of opportunity to be in the annals of history, to
be cemented forever, to have an opportunity to be counted
amongst those greats.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Right?
Speaker 5 (25:31):
You know when you walk by and you know you
see frank Oherris walking down the street, you see Rocky
Blier in the building. You know, you see Mel Blunt
on the sidelines. Donnie Shell's around. You know, heck, I
just saw the honorable Dwayne woodriff down here.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
He was coming down to enjoy Super Bowl.
Speaker 5 (25:51):
I'm sure probably relive in some of his memories, you know,
of playing Super Bowl down here.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
In New Orleans with some friends. You know, I mean,
you know who else.
Speaker 5 (26:01):
Let's see, you know, the white whites walking around means
Joe green is on the staff, right, Elsie Greenwood's around
at that time. You see all of these legendary Steelers
and you're like, these dudes have multiple Super Bowl rings,
we just just need a shot at one, right, And
we get that, we get that, and then at that
(26:22):
moment when Hines crosses the goal line, it's like, this
is as close to the reality until the until the
clock hit zero that you're going to feel comfortable about
that being a reality.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
So you know, it was.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
A huge sigh of relief but also a moment of joy.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
And I just remember, you.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
Know, coming off the field after that, I put my
I put my fist.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
I have a picture actually funny enough.
Speaker 5 (26:49):
I put my fist in the air and I put
the number one up like I held it like we're
number one. As I ran off the field after that,
and just just like kind of of that normally kind
of those flood of emotions, kind of coming in and
accepting those you know, accepting those moments because I think
(27:10):
in your mind as a player, you don't ever want
to count your chickens before they're hatched, right, no doubt.
But at that moment, a beat poke through on That.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Was the moment in Jurassic Park where the dinosaur broke
through the egg.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (27:29):
That was the moment where I was like, you know what,
I can embrace this. I can really really embrace this.
And then of course you know that moment and then
of course, the ensuing drive. I believe that was the
one where they're driving defensively, and then I get the
interception if I'm not if I'm not mistaken, and we're
(27:53):
on the sidelines. Marvel and I funny enough that WEX
brought up Marvel. We're getting the gatorade cooler ready, and
we're trying to sneak up and and and and and
and and dowst coach Cower and I remember vividly, now
here's the chain of events at the end of the game.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
I remember we grabbed the gatoraku, who's gonna do? Who's
gonna do? And so Marvel.
Speaker 5 (28:18):
Already had it in his mouth in his mind, but
Marvel still had his mouthpiece it. I was like, mar yeah,
take okay, fine, you know what whatever, And so I
grabbed it. I hand my helmet off to Barrett Brooks.
B Brooks has my helmet. I'm like, hey, hold my
helmet so I can go do this gatoraye dump And
so we go, and we go. We dunk the cooler,
(28:40):
you know, the gatorade on coach Cowra. Marvel is so
exciting he lets go of it. I'm holding on to
the cooler. So so the bottom of the cooler opening
just absolutely just hits Coach Cowra in the back of
the neck like Joseph forward.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Oh, like I'm holding the.
Speaker 7 (29:00):
Corm like, oh god, he's gonna think I did it
by myself. And then and then we get the ball
back and I'm looking around for be Ber, was my help?
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Was my health? So I don't know, I don't.
Speaker 5 (29:14):
Know, and he be Brooks is halfway on the field
strapping his helmet up as he's going on the field
to take my place because he had this plant in
his mind. He had thrown my helmet all the way
underneath the underneath the bench and almost.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Hit the back wall. Uh you just trying to get
rid of it so fast so that.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
He could get on the field for one snap and
he and so I was not on the field for
the final play of the game. Bean Brooks was to
take the final knee in the victory formation.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
I was like, this sure is fantastic. I've never seen
this before.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
But you just dunking coach, I mean perfect, Like he
is drenched in ice like sometimes you know, you do
the ice bat the gatory path, like you barely get
the coach like he is getting baptized, Max, like you are.
Speaker 5 (30:00):
He was completely unaware. He was like, we caught him
completely by surprise.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
Oh he's look on his face.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
It's like it looks like the look you know, and
like you push a toddler into the pool in the
summertime and they have that half second of realization that
they're about to hit the water, like that look on
his face and you and you look like just you
look like just a menace.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Yes, yes, a man. We were so excited.
Speaker 5 (30:25):
We was like, we got him, we got it, because
you know, you see so many coaches they.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Kind of look for it and they're running away from it.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
They kind of skip away from it.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (30:34):
Or you know it's that one when like that, you know,
if you're outside and you're bundled up and that one
piece of snow gets down the back of your shirt
that you kind of arched the back of you kind
of like run forward and do your arms as though
you're like a cartoon character.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Like you know, you get those types. But no coach
caw fully, fully.
Speaker 5 (30:54):
Unaware and just we we we we got him good,
We got him good.
Speaker 3 (30:59):
Best part, Max is everybody is all excited and fired
up and thrilled, and then for whatever reason, Larry Foot
looks like somebody just shot his puppy. Like Larry Foot
is standing right next to you and Coach Cower, and
he looks like it's kickoff, Like he looks like he's
got the game face on. Still not a stitch of emotion.
Oh that's great, what a photo.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah, well, you know, because the defense is still on
the field.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Yeah, right, that's true. He's still in his mind, he
still has a job to do.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
Yeah, He's like, man, do I have to go in
because he just came out for sub package, right, you know,
so it's like, do I have to go back in?
I'm like, man, this drive isn't overweight. Guys, y'all stop celebrat.
We try, we try to stop him.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Uh you know.
Speaker 5 (31:38):
But then, of course, like I said, you know, uh,
you know, the timeliest of plays, man, I comes up
with a big interception in that game, yep, and and
game over after that, and like you said, take the knee,
call it victory at that point. But yeah, it's an
iconic moment and that was actually in the in the
(31:59):
Hall of Fame uh for like years until they redid it.
That picture and had like you know, cut out of
like the gatoray cooler kind of coming out in a
three D type of action with me and Marvel. I
remember when we went up for the what was it
the Hall of Fame game? I believe when you yes,
(32:21):
believe no, no, no, no, this was this was before
this we were still active playing in the Hall of
Fame game.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
I want to say it was against the Saints. I
want to say it was either.
Speaker 4 (32:32):
That the lower messed up his knee.
Speaker 5 (32:36):
Uh no, this this is the one before that. This
is still j Reid. Yeah, Jay Reid is still our kicker.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
I want it was seven.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
I think it was seven season, like like it wasn't
the sixties, it was the following year. And trying to
think it was.
Speaker 4 (32:58):
Steelers have played in the Hall of Fame games seven
different times.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Here, it looks like Hug could have been against the
Saints in two thousand and seven.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Yeah, I think that would happened right now.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Yep, there was. I knew.
Speaker 5 (33:15):
I was like, I think it was a seven season
and so we got to take a tour the day
before when we got up there, and so we went
through the it went through the the you know, the
Hall of Fame because you know, I'd never been at
that point, right, you know, you'd heard about it, you
knew it was in Canton, but that was my first
time going through it.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
And as we.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
Went into the like one of the rooms, it was
like right there, big picture, I'm like.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Holy crap, them in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 5 (33:46):
And it was the moment of us dowsing Coach Kawer
with the gatorade bucket and there's a picture you see
me and you see Marvel like Clear's Day with Coach
Cower and it's like at three D animates, I have
to find the picture.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
I have to show it to you West. But yeah,
that was in the Hall of Fame for for a while.
Speaker 5 (34:02):
As we were taking a picture next to it, I
was like, man, this is pretty awesome.
Speaker 4 (34:06):
That is cool.
Speaker 5 (34:06):
And then you and then I think, and then I
think after that, then you walk into the bus room
and there was you know, all all the all the
busts after that. So it was it was a pretty
cool intro and to see that moment. But yeah, that
moment sticks in my head very very vividly.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
Real quick before and I know we're due for a
break here, but I wanted to make sure to tell
you this because you touched on there a couple of
minutes ago. The enormity of that One for the Thumb
and Max, Like, I can't speak to the the bliss
and the elation and the dedication that you guys have
to work your whole lives to get to that point
to finally win the Super Bowl, right, Like it's the
Jim Mora thing. We might think we know what that's like,
(34:44):
but we don't know. But but what I can't, But
what I can speak to is growing up as a
kid in Pittsburgh during that time when it was the
hunt for the One for the Thumb. That was again
right when I was growing up getting into sports. That
just pure unadulterated fan hood moment of your team age
in your younger years. And dude, that was a real thing,
Like because the Steelers had gotten so close so many times,
(35:06):
like Wolf in that AFC Championship game, lost to Marino,
losing to the Chargers in ninety five in the AFC
Championship Game, going to the Super Bowl in ninety six,
Super Bowl thirty but losing to the Cowboys. You know
those like they a lot of AFC Championship games in there,
the loss at home to Lway, the loss at home
to Brady, you know, for you guys to find like
(35:28):
the magnitude of that whole one, for the thumb, like
cannot be understated.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
What you were talking about.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
It was on T shirts everywhere, It was talked about everywhere.
It was you know, we were the first of four.
Now we got to get back to five.
Speaker 4 (35:41):
Like it was. I can't tell you how big of
a deal it was.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
And you know, you guys had been so close so
many times in the decade leading up to that, and
then to finally get it done, I mean it was.
It was a moment that you know, twenty five years
in the making, that this city had been waiting for.
In the joy, in the in just the the outburst
of celebration was you know, again, I was only fifteen
(36:06):
years old, but I still remember it like it was yesterday.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
Man.
Speaker 5 (36:11):
I think I think you put it appropriately, like it
was something that, like you said, it is indescribable. And
you know, so many storylines in that game, so many
personal stories attached to that Super Bowl that made that
run so magical because you know, you have to think
(36:35):
about you said it, Larry Foot, Larry Foot's a Detroit
kid as well, right, yeah, you know, just like Jerome.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
You know, he's from Pershing High School.
Speaker 5 (36:43):
Right there, a lot of family, a lot of expectations,
a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Around for that moment for him.
Speaker 5 (36:50):
You know, my personal connection to that Super Bowl, my
mom's from Detroit. She actually went to the same high
school as Larry Foot. Funny enough, she went to Pershing
High School as well. You know, for me, that was
also a very special moment because you know, my father
played the only other Super Bowl in Detroit back in
(37:12):
eighty one, the eighty one season eighty two Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Against the forty nine ers.
Speaker 5 (37:19):
He made he still goes down as the only guy
to ever sack Joe Montana in the Super Bowl and
their four super Bowls. My pops his his former teammate
because they were teammates in college at Notre Dame together,
you know, took Joe down in that Super Bowl and
we practiced in the Pontiac Silver Dome all week. So
(37:40):
there was a lot of lot of different stories, and
of course obviously the biggest.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
One was Jerome bringing Jerome home wearing the.
Speaker 5 (37:46):
Number six jerseys, like Wex said off off of the
plane to celebrate Jerome for coach Cower coming ten years later.
You know, losing Super Bowl thirty now on Super Bowl
forty is like, you know, the space in between Super
Bowl appearances, Willie Williams being the only Steelers player that
(38:06):
was on the thirty team that was now still on
the forty team. To be there and to finally get one,
I mean, there was just so many different iconic moments
we can look back on that led to this being
that moment for us and a truly special one. And
like you said, the pressure that now comes off of you,
(38:27):
dude by finally getting that one for the thumb Max.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
No matter what you guys did, no matter how great
you were, it didn't matter if you didn't win a
Super Bowl. Like that's where and that's where, that's the
standard that we love is Steeler fans, Right. But man,
that time period, like you guys go fifteen and one
with a rookie quarterback and go to the AFC Championship game.
Speaker 4 (38:47):
Nobody cares didn't win a Super Bowl, you know what
I mean?
Speaker 3 (38:49):
Where like every other fan base would have been through
the roof about that. In fifteen and one with a
rookie quarterback AFC championship game doesn't matter. Still didn't win
the Super Bowl, Like that's the type of expectation that
there were at that time. And for you guys to
kick that door in, it was a man, it was
an all time Pittsburgh moment without a doubt.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
Yeah it was.
Speaker 5 (39:09):
It was and and and you know, and we're gonna
step aside, but we'll continue to talk about this.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
We go on the other side of the brake. Here,
you're inside the locker room.
Speaker 5 (39:18):
We'll be back for the bell lap after these commercial
breaks here on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
This is in the Locker Room, presented by Ford and
brought to you by acro Sure, the official insurance and
cybersecurity partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, by Bett MGM, Huntington Bank, PNC, PEPSI,
and by FedEx. Where now meets next? Now here's Craig
Wolfley and Max Starks when they.
Speaker 4 (40:11):
Finished the half absolutely.
Speaker 8 (40:15):
And the pass over the middle, and that's Stevens and
he's going to drop that one, and that's going to
write an end to it. And you're exactly right, John,
The first half was a mess. At the end, the
end of this drive was a mess. As they ended
on a Neil Daan Polmolo will be the safety valve
here and the Pittsburgh Steelers seven and five and wouldn't
(40:39):
have made the playoffs two months ago, run the entire
table with eight wins regular and post all of them
in postseason.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
On the road, Bill Cower was saying that he wanted
to get this one.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
Dude.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
You have owner Dan Rooney his fifth Super Bowl rang.
Speaker 5 (41:00):
He did that, oh man, and just think about that man,
the iconic John.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
And al michaels Man.
Speaker 5 (41:11):
Yeah, I mean, that's that's a pretty that's a pretty special moment, man,
you know, the legend that he is, and of course
a Raiders coach who had to play against the Steelers
back in the day during those other Super Bowl runs.
Making that call and then, like you said, finally completing
(41:34):
the hand, you know, putting a ring on the thumb,
and then of course we know what happened after that.
It was one for the other thumb, and you know
all this stuff because of course our fans are insatiable
when it comes to that. I don't blame him, you know,
high standard set in the Steel City and that's just
that's a great moment, and you know, it's funny, I've
(41:56):
actually never heard that call, So for me, that's the
first time I'm hearing the mad Michael's call, because I'm
always used.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
To hearing Billy's call, right, you know.
Speaker 5 (42:07):
So, yeah, you don't think about the national broadcast of
it and what they said in those moments. So it's
funny to kind of live relive that moment, but live it.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
For the first time.
Speaker 5 (42:19):
Considering all the times I've talked about Super Bowl forty,
that's the first time I've actually heard that.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
So thank you Wes for no problem.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
Yeah, I want to, you know, And again I'm kind
of the same way, like we always go to the
well of the Billy Hillgrove calls and why would you not?
But I think sometimes too to just kind of, you know,
paint the the memory of nineteen years ago. It's nice
to hear the al Michaels and of course the late
great iconic John Madden there and talking about the late
great iconic Dan Rooney as well. Just a lot of
(42:48):
nostalgia in that kind of last national clip there. So
I thought that that'd be a good way to close
it down.
Speaker 5 (42:54):
Yeah, No, that's definitely an excellent way to close it down.
Of course, as we celebrate today the nineteenth anniversary. On
this day historical moment, my teammates and I brought back
a sticky Lombardi to the city of Pittsburgh, and man,
(43:16):
it gives me goosebumps, and looking.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
At my arm, I'm like, man, this is yeah. To
believe I did that. You know, sometimes you kind of
you know, you remember.
Speaker 5 (43:23):
It, yep, but to kind of like live it, embrace
it and just go back in your mind at all
those moments.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
Pretty special.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
Okay, Max, real quick for you, and I know we're
due to get out of here, but you'll love this
story too. I'm a freshman in high school, right, fifteen
years old when you guys got the one for the thumb,
And my mom was like adamant, like, I'm taking my
son to the parade, right, like this is happening, Like
who knows, it's been twenty five years, who it could
be twenty five more years. I'm taking my son to
the parade. My mom came to pick me up from
(43:52):
school and they said, does your son have an excused
absence to leave? And my mom and her panic said,
oh yeah, I'm just taking him to the doctor's office.
And so we leave the school and everything my mom
with me, and my mom God bless her heart, lovely
lady that she is. She felt so guilty the entire
(44:13):
drive downtown. She called the school secretary office to tell
him that she lied. She was like, I'm so sorry.
I'm actually taking my son to the super Bowl parade.
I just I don't know why I lied. I shouldn't
have done that. I just didn't want him to get
in trouble in the secretariat. And the secretary of our
high school was like, I totally figured you were lying
to me. It's fine, go to the parade. Absolutely take
(44:33):
him to the parade. I still love, We still love
telling that story about how my mom lied and then
felt so bad. Like fifteen minutes later in the car,
my mom's calling the school office to be like, I'm
really sorry, I lied.
Speaker 4 (44:46):
I'm actually taking him to the super Bowl parade.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
Zoom was guilt.
Speaker 5 (44:51):
Amusing my daytime minute to call you right now, because
that's also that era, Like yeah.
Speaker 3 (44:57):
Her little brick, her little brick cell phone everybody had
back in two thousand and six. She's like, I'm really sorry,
Please don't take it out on my son. I just
wanted to take them to the parade, and uh, hey,
God a great bowl man.
Speaker 4 (45:11):
God bless God, Bless my mom.
Speaker 3 (45:12):
Max. Can you see why I'm sports obsessed the way
I am where I get it from.
Speaker 5 (45:18):
Yeah, absolutely, of course, still that sense, that sense of
righteousness as well, which we can appreciate, right absolutely, was.
Speaker 2 (45:27):
Like, Okay, I can't. I can't live with this lie.
I gotta let it. I gotta let this truth be told.
Speaker 3 (45:31):
Good Christian lady. She could not have that on her
conscience when she was about to go celebrate Super Bowl forty.
Speaker 2 (45:36):
All right, yeah exactly.
Speaker 5 (45:38):
It's like it was like, listen, I don't want this
to be the turning point with Saint Peter's and me
getting through the pearly gates.
Speaker 2 (45:44):
Okay, so let's go ahead, and.
Speaker 5 (45:47):
Let's let's go ahead and just get just get everything,
make it, make everything square.
Speaker 2 (45:50):
Let's get back to zero.
Speaker 3 (45:51):
She told her. I, she said, Mom, Mom, we all
know the Good Lord is a Steelers fan.
Speaker 4 (45:55):
All Right, you're fine, don't worry about it.
Speaker 2 (45:57):
Yeah, exactly exactly. Jesus Jesus.
Speaker 5 (46:00):
His favorite pro team is the Steelers, and of course
his favorite college team, of course.
Speaker 2 (46:04):
Is Notre Dame.
Speaker 5 (46:05):
Uh, if you let Golden domers tell it. But but no, man,
this has been a fun show.
Speaker 2 (46:10):
This has been a great time. Man.
Speaker 5 (46:11):
Of course we will still keep it, keep it going.
We still got two more days left and so we
will be bringing the action live into you. Of course,
I'll be down at Radio Road today. I'm sure it's
gonna be a mad house. Yesterday SpongeBob showed up and
uh and the Nickelodeon folks. They were giving away the
little slime helmets and stuff like that. So it's pretty
(46:34):
crazy now. I can only imagine what's going to be today. Obviously,
Bounty has A has a very cool setup. So hopefully
I'm gonna get down there today a little bit earlier
and I will uh, I will.
Speaker 2 (46:45):
Let you know how the wings are.
Speaker 5 (46:46):
They have a place called House of Wingman patch to it,
so you know what goes better with Bounty paper towels,
the quicker Piper upper right, and then some good old
saucy wings. So the visit Pittsburgh's by the way, and
they were giving away Prantle's yesterday. They were giving away
items from Prantl's Bakery. I think today is gonna be perogis.
(47:08):
So I'm like, yeah, I want to make it down there.
Try a little simple make it.
Speaker 2 (47:11):
Up because I've never had those before.
Speaker 3 (47:13):
Yeah, making up for all the food that Wolf and
I normally get here that we taught you about. This
is your this is your payback now.
Speaker 5 (47:20):
Oh, this is my payback because I had I had
a spicy pimento cheese like dip yesterday from the Louisiana
Host Committee Board. Cheese curds had left from Lambeau because
of the draft being there this year, So they had
cheese curds and something called bou Ya soup, which is
like a chicken and oxtail soup that they slow simmer
(47:41):
for like twelve to thirteen hours. So, I mean, there's
a there's a good little freebie goodies food wise.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
If you're a media guy down there.
Speaker 5 (47:49):
So I will go give you a full report and
I'll let you know how how good everything tasted. All right, well,
all right, everybody, that was a show today. We did
not even play the bell lap sounder. We didn't thank you,
thank you. That is not the early lunch morning system.
(48:10):
You are now late. We are five minutes past lunchtime.
Get out there, go make it a great day.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
We'll see you tomorrow.
This is in the Locker Room, presented by Ford and
brought to you by acro Sure, the official insurance and
cybersecurity partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, by Bett MGM, Huntington Bank, PNC, PEPSI,
and by FedEx. Where now meets next? Now here's Craig
Wolfley and Max Stark's.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Oh, guess what day it is? Guess what day it is?
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Eh?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Anybody, Julie, Hey, guess what day it is?
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Come on, I know you can hear me.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, What day is it?
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Mike Leslie?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Guess what today is?
Speaker 5 (00:58):
It's all right, final Wex Wednesday of this season, and
of course we are joined by author columnist I guess
(01:19):
we could say, but also you know, sports writer and
editor in chief of Field City Insider. It is our
good buddy, mister Jim wexel Wex. Welcome back to the
locker room on a Wednesday for the final week of
the season.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
How are we doing today, Bud?
Speaker 6 (01:42):
It feels really good to be back, boys, ung. Is
it working like it should? It's not as sharp as
it might be. My top good thing, my lawyer tells me.
Probably I've been through seven weeks of ratation on what
I had met cancer. It's highly curable, so they call
(02:06):
you don't have to get the violins out, but the
process of beating it is brutal.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (02:11):
And this is really the first time I've talked these
many words in a couple of weeks. So I'm giving
my tongue on work about gonna get better.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (02:23):
And I feel like a darkness is lifted today today,
it's fairly good for the first time in a long
time today.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
So hey, uh, awesome, awesome, awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Well, we're we're so happy.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
I mean, you know, you have fought you have you know,
been on you know the shows. We know how we
you know, as a kid who's had a parent fight cancer,
beat cancer, and my mother, you know, really really proud
and happy of the way that you've gone about it.
And never a peep, never a moment, you know, went
(03:06):
by you. You've been an utter professional with this. We've
been praying for you, of course, Wolf and I and
West and everybody that's kind of you know, known about it.
We've we've been we've been rooting for you, man, and
so to have you come on with WEX Wednesday and
share that news Man, we are just so happy and
(03:28):
like I said, bravo, man, bravo, and thank you for
taking the time, you know, to be with us each
and every week throughout this process.
Speaker 6 (03:38):
Well you know, I love you guys, and I appreciate that. Max,
and just say this. It's from HPV virus let me
be virus. And they say that eighty percent of us
carry it around the hp and whyatt comes cancer and
some people. But it's becoming prevalent. They don't understand the
(03:59):
scene for it out there for the for the HPV
and I recommend and there's a vaccum into it, especially
younger people because it's becoming everybody looking. And like they
told me, it's ninety percent curable and more comp I
hear that when they say that it's pretty much one
hundred percent curable and highly curable. But you don't want
(04:22):
to go through this. I still put my taste back
for another month or two. And I've only lost if
all that happens, I've I've worked really diligently, and I
mean piled up a lot of people. Have you know,
people have lost fifty pounds. They need to keep my waves.
It's a it's a brutal process. So look into this
(04:43):
vaccine if feeding too. That's all you can get out
of it from me with this interview. But uh, that's
everybody tells me. I'll be back to full strength soon.
Often they are really good. So it's been a weak
sense of last radiation. Today, I feel everything is going good.
I'll be I'll be one hundred percent for draft season
(05:04):
and so hopefully the Steelers are right there with me, right.
Speaker 5 (05:10):
And oh absolutely, okay?
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Football, all right, football, well, WEX, thanks, thanks, just thanks,
thanks for sharing all that and being upfront and speaking
that message and early detection.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
I mean, we all know like it.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
I I do love how it has gone from in
the last you know, decade or so. Feels like something
that we never really talked about much that we pushed
to the forefront now and so thank you for sharing
that as well.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
But now to the football.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Like you said, I wanted to ask you, WEX as
we kind of you know, continue the celebrations in the
in the in the happy tightings here Max and I
kind of spent the first hour. Today is the nineteenth
anniversary of the Steelers capturing that one for the thumb
winning Super Bowl forty in Detroit twenty one to ten
over the Seattle Seahawks.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
I just wanted to ask.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
You your your memories of of you know, this day,
this this time period nineteen years ago. You know, when
Bill Cower got his Super Bowl, when Jerome Bettis got
his Super Bowl, when the Steelers you know, finally got
off that schneid and got the one for the thumb.
Speaker 6 (06:18):
Yeah, I was there, you know, Jerome charging out field,
thinking the team was with him, running out there all
about to take the field, uh and reacting well, he
himself very well. I don't need to imply that he
was shocked so that this team was handled at Joey Porter,
(06:41):
making sure they all got with him. But green number
six is to the wear coming off the plane, Sean
Bill Cower's first down salute. You know, I don't know
so much of down indication that he gave at the end,
which but the first of the game was over. I
remember that hid a lot of cool things Woollie Parker's run.
(07:06):
Learning later how the pet that up in the first
half they kept the Steelers same formation, Max and how
the Alan Pant was telling me they finally they finally
got it, uh and they find something big was gonna
happen right before the snap because they knew Justed not Detroit.
(07:30):
Seattle adjusted accordingly. At halftime, Detroit hints Ward, of course,
Ferrier playing with really bad he he he thought was
gonna and the game for him had injury that I
guess he got a shot and continued playing, played very
(07:53):
hurt and we didn't never knew about uh things like that.
Those those antoline Randall of course flash in front of
me with a p I didn't drop, but then I
can kill I don't know, touching on Eddie krd smax.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
I mean you're hitting all of them wext.
Speaker 5 (08:17):
I mean, those are those those are some of the
highlights and moments, you know, that will always stick in
my mind. And I think probably one of my favorites was,
you know, when we went out for the team intros,
you know, you know that was Joey Porter Peas was like, hey, hey,
you guys, stay back, stay back, like they didn't tell
(08:37):
Jerome as we're kind of getting out of you know,
Jerome's right out there at the front and ps kind
of steps right in front of, like right right behind
Jerome and turns around and puts his hands up like, hey,
let him have Let him have this moment, and uh,
because I was hitting right there at the front because
normally I was just I just wanted to run out
on the field, right, I just want to get it
(08:58):
over with, so I would be right near the front
as well. So you know, there's that moment where you
see like all of us kind of standing up there,
but P's he's right there, and he was and he
was holding the guys back and and you know, Jerome
took the field and then he ran and then when
he when he stopped and would to turn around, he
was like, where's everybody at?
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I mean, that's that's an iconic moment.
Speaker 5 (09:20):
Just to remember that and be able to give him
that moment was was, I mean so special, right. I Mean,
you talk about a guy like Jerome Bettison all the years,
all the yardage, you know that he a mass I remember,
you know, when when he overtook you know, Curtis Martin
for the Jets for you know, you know, for for
(09:42):
a second most all time rushing yards and just going
through like that whole process and what the culmination of
that career and what it took to get him back
that season and then for him to battle through and
us to battle to get the sixth seed.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
The journey, and just look, it felt like destiny.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
And so to be there in that moment in the
Super Bowl getting ready to run out, He's running out
in front of his home crowd, in his home city,
you know, home state. You know, everybody could feel it
was the final game, but you still didn't know until.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
He said it. But we knew that we had to
finish the job, you know, for that guy, because he had.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
Given so much to the city, to the team, and
to us as teammates.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
So it was that. That's a prideful moment to will
always stick out of my mind.
Speaker 6 (10:36):
You know, you were probably involved in this shuffling or
reshuffling of the line snacks. I remember exactly how, but
I remember when you got it was except I can't.
You guys had fallen too. And I remember making a
bet with Edobution and five that you guys were going
to run the table. And yet Ed that has since
(11:01):
told this story. We made a bed for life. I said,
you guys were going to run the table. He bet
against you me running the table to the super Bowl.
I met running the table in the red I didn't,
but Ed tells the story that I met the Super Bowl.
That was that guy Sea Hums or something, So I
(11:22):
never correct him. I'm a genius. What I remember I
was thinking at the time was because I know Ben
had been out a little bit exactly when he was
coming back, but he was going to come back. I
don't remember your maybe he had come back before then,
(11:43):
but we knew he was going to be healthy. And
also Marvel Smith was coming back. And yeah, and I
remember that Tree Essex was playing with the tackle Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, I was on the right side. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (12:03):
I thought Marvel was a big team. Can you either.
I mean, I love key to that not trying to
put him down, but I just remember whenever Marvel times
when he was hurt, you guys struggled. There are other
those that you can look back to the record that
(12:24):
do like KEYJ players. You know, they're not quarterbacks, but
they are key pieces. And I just remember Marvel being
one of those key pieces. And and I think you
guys got healthy. And that's why I made the bet,
not because I'm it's envisioned you guys is getting another
(12:45):
uh other level for no unmain reason, but I think
you guys got healthy. Reaching my correct.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
Yeah, No, you're you're absolutely, you're you're, you're right along
that because during the losing three Mark Marvel was out
that Colts game, you know, Trey was a rookie going
up against Dwight Freeney, you know, and having to deal
with that. Then we had Baltimore the following week and
(13:15):
Trey once again he's still a rookie and going against
the top defense, and so we had some struggles in
that in those games. I actually got injured in the
Baltimore game, but did not miss any time.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I toured my meniscus.
Speaker 5 (13:31):
I got hit in the back of the knee, and
I remember.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Fighting for that then. No, no, this was before it.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
No no, no, well technically I did as well. So
it's funny enough. There's a current, there's a running theme
with getting injured during a Baltimore game and playing through it.
But this is the sixth season, this is still regular season,
and so you know, we had that stretch and I
forgot who the third loss was. And then we come
back home against Chicago and that and that's when you
(14:06):
get Marvel back, right, you know, Buss, He's in there
the snow and it's a got to have it game.
It's like, we got, we got, we got to win
this game if we want to have any shot, you know, tours,
this is the end of November, and we're like, we
got we gotta.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Win out, guys, we have to win out.
Speaker 5 (14:26):
And so then and that Chicago game is what starts
the run, uh for us. And then of course we
never looked back after that. But you're right, I mean
that that was one where you know, Marvel was a
key piece and getting him back in that Chicago game
was was huge because I mean, Tray Tray was awesome
(14:47):
and obviously, you know, Trey was with us. I mean
we you know, was with us for a long time
and Trey was a key piece as far as a
key reserve for us. But that was his rookie year
and he was he was learning, you know, trial by fire.
Speaker 6 (15:01):
Mm hmmm mm hmm. Yeah. So it was a great
run this of those days, man.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
No doubt, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
And uh and Wex, I think Max just I think
we lost Max.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
I think his connection just dropped.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
But you know what, I think that's a I think
that's kind of a good a good place to wrap
this up as well, too, Wex. I I know, if
if Max we're still on here. I know he would
want to say thank you, just not only for today,
but for another great season of joining us every single
week Wednesdays Tuesdays, being flexible for us. Thank you so much,
(15:40):
all the all the continued best and hopefully we'll see
you around here before too much longer.
Speaker 6 (15:45):
I'll be back at full strength soon enough, buddy. Thanks
Wes forth having me on here. Oh yeah, I really
enjoyed this ship and I enjoy being on here.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
We do too, WEX. It's it's always a pleasure. Take
care partner. All right, all right, we're gonna go to.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
A break here.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
I'll get Max back from his New Orleans Hotel room
dialed in, and we will keep the Super Bowl forty
conversation going here on the nineteenth anniversary of the Steelers
getting one for the Thumb.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
It is in the Locker Room on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
This is in the Locker Room, presented by Ford and
brought to you by acro Shure, the official insurance and
cybersecurity partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, by bet MGM, Huntington Bank, PNC, PEPSI,
and by FedEx. Where now meets next? Now Here's Craig
wolf Lee and Max Starks.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
And they pitch it to the left and now here's
the handoff on the reverse to Antoine ran Alow. He's
gonna throw it down the field. There's a man open.
Speaker 4 (17:09):
Touchdown, puts back.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
Oh man, we got another one. I mean that, that's
a really good one. Uh Antoine randallll. The end a
round passed to heines Ward and of course we know
the iconic moment there where heines Is is skipping.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Across the line smiling and there's.
Speaker 5 (17:31):
A picture of him that's immortalized from that moment, and
of course what ultimately sealed his MVP bide in the
Super super Bowl and becoming Super Bowl forty MVP. But
that play, that was that Now that was a fun one, Wes,
because it was like, hey, we got to do something.
(17:52):
We were working on this trick play. We're working on
a trick play. Antoine's a quarterback. We got to figure
out how to get this in. And with calls it
in and we're like, okay, all right, heye, time to
block him up, you know, and and that and and
it came, you know, the play went left and then
(18:13):
came back around right. So so it's like, hey, look,
it's on you. It's on your side, you know, as
a young guy on there, you know, obviously my second
year but still young to that offensive line, and I
just remember, just block wah wah, do not let this
guy blow up field. And not let this guy blow
up field. Just block him, block him, hold him if
(18:33):
you have to, but don't get caught.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
You know, you're thinking about.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
Like all these things in your head in the moment
and that play, just hearing the crowd erupt as the
ball was in the air, like it wasn't even en
Hinz's hands, and the crowd is like cheering yes, so
and then and then you quickly are looking like to scramble, like.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Okay, where where where's it? Okay, he's over there, Oh
my god.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
And you can hear you can hear some of that
like confusion or just uncertainty from Billy on the call
there too.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Just a lot going on on that play.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
Yeah, well, I mean, because you know you have the
handoff and the reverse action, and then you're thinking Antoine's
gonna run, right if you don't know, if you don't
know the play, it looks like he's about to run.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Yeah, And then he pulls up right, and then maybe,
like now that I'm thinking about it, Billy might have
been thinking he was about to throw back across the
field to Ben, because you guys would run a gadget
play in that regard a couple weeks earlier against the
Bengals in Cincinnati. So it was like, Okay, is Radel
all gonna run it here? Is he gonna pitch it
back across the ben like you guys did a few
weeks Oh, No, he's throwing downfield to a wide open
(19:42):
Hines Ward. Was just another one of those just incredible moments.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (19:47):
And I think the other thing is is that you know,
now being on this side, like you're trying to track
action live and while still trying to anticipate what's going
to happen right correct, you know, because like you said,
we don't have a play sheet, we don't get Hey guys,
we're calling this play up so that we can talk
about it, you know what I'm saying, Like.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
It's not matter we don't see the play call as
it happens.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (20:12):
So it's like, so you're following this in real time
and trying to describe what's going on while it's happening,
and then something else is happening as you're finishing up
the previous statement, and so it's a frenzy and you
kind of hear that in the call with Billy, because yeah,
when you anytime you have gadget plays where it's either
multiple handoffs or a fake handoff and you're trying to
(20:35):
spot locate the ball, make sure the ball is in
there for sure, Like there's so many different things that
go on and you're trying to capture it all.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
But also you're like, what do I key in on?
What do I say in this moment?
Speaker 5 (20:49):
But at the end of the day, all you need
to say is touchdown, right, I mean, at the end
of the day, that was that was a touchdown play.
However it came about, it was a touchdown play, and
of course that effectively was the moment that really sealed
the Super Bowl for us.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Right, absolutely, and give you that possession lead back once again.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it made it. It made it, you know,
Finola mine.
Speaker 5 (21:20):
For any of our Spanish speakers out there, Yeah, but.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
I like two Max, not to cut you off there, sorry,
I I like to how you mentioned the kind of
how that really that touchdown. That moment, that little giddy
up celebration, little kind of hop skip from Hines when
he caught the ball in the end zone and flashed
that million dollar smile, Like that really put him over
the top. Is having that million dollar smile and being
(21:47):
the happy guy and all those things. And man, like,
we talk about a lot of times, you and Wolf
and I about you know, sports things of yester year,
and at the top of that list for me, man,
it's Sports Illustrated, you know, and when when sports when
Sports Illustrated was still a big deal, and getting that
magazine when you were, you know, a sports junkie. There
(22:09):
was really only so many ways to consume it at
that time. You had Sports Center and you had Sports Illustrated. Man,
those were like your your everything when you were a
sports fan growing up in the nineties, in the early
two thousands. And Max, I don't know if I've ever
shared this with you before, but when I was growing
up in our bathroom upstairs, like the bathroom that I used,
(22:30):
you know growing up, I completely covered all the wallpaper,
all the walls in there with Sports Illustrated covers.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
You know.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
It took me, It took me like two or three
years to have enough covers. But like when I would
get a Sports Illustrated cover that I would like, Oh, man,
Randy Moss is on the front of this one. Cut
it off and tape it or post it to the wall.
Oh John Elway's on this one. Oh Mariola meuse on
this one, you know whatever. And man, I had that
Hinz Lord with the smile and the skip with the
thumbs up, you know, Steelers Super both forty champions, uh,
(23:02):
you know, hanging in my bathroom on the wall throughout
my entire you know, uh kind of upbringing, teenage formative years.
And so I will always like that that cover is
still just burned into my memory because I had it hanging,
you know, hanging on my wall throughout my you know,
my teenage, high school years.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Dude, that is so awesome. I'm glad.
Speaker 5 (23:22):
I'm glad you shared that one because that that that's
that's that's that's pretty cool. Never knew that. And like
you said, that iconic moment and that being captured for
the cover of Sports Illustrated after we won.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Man, you can't beat it.
Speaker 5 (23:37):
I mean, it was it was a moment that, you know,
and especially that at that time like getting one for
the thumb, right, talking about it for years, talked about
it for years. I mean I remember coming in my
rookie year and everybody saying one for the thumb, one
for the you know, you go into strip district, you
see the T shirt shirts everybody, Yeah, they hey, one
(24:01):
for the thumb, and you know, people trying to put
whatever their version of a Super Bowl ring on it,
trying to guess it, you know. But then to come
into year two, you hear that theme, go through the
journey and the pressure.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Of that one for the thumb, one for the thumb.
Speaker 5 (24:20):
Uh, you know, gotta got you know, got to recapture
the lead you know for most super Bowl you know,
for most Super Bowl victories.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (24:29):
And to be in that moment and like you said,
to know that, dude, we actually did this, right, we
did we did. We did one for the thumb. Like,
are you seriously We've filled you know, to be a
part of that history because you know, FLI, there's a
lot of pressure. Yeah, there's a lot of pressure on
(24:50):
a on on players and teams. When you know that
the previous generation, right that seventy, the seventy squad, they
got four you know, and those guys are still around,
and you know you're you're celebrating them, but you're like, man,
you know, when's it gonna be my turn? When am
(25:11):
I going to get an opportunity to get this type
of opportunity to be in the annals of history, to
be cemented forever, to have an opportunity to be counted
amongst those greats.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Right?
Speaker 5 (25:31):
You know when you walk by and you know you
see frank Oherris walking down the street, you see Rocky
Blier in the building. You know, you see Mel Blunt
on the sidelines. Donnie Shell's around. You know, heck, I
just saw the honorable Dwayne woodriff down here.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
He was coming down to enjoy Super Bowl.
Speaker 5 (25:51):
I'm sure probably relive in some of his memories, you know,
of playing Super Bowl down here.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
In New Orleans with some friends. You know, I mean,
you know who else.
Speaker 5 (26:01):
Let's see, you know, the white whites walking around means
Joe green is on the staff, right, Elsie Greenwood's around
at that time. You see all of these legendary Steelers
and you're like, these dudes have multiple Super Bowl rings,
we just just need a shot at one, right, And
we get that, we get that, and then at that
(26:22):
moment when Hines crosses the goal line, it's like, this
is as close to the reality until the until the
clock hit zero that you're going to feel comfortable about
that being a reality.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
So you know, it was.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
A huge sigh of relief but also a moment of joy.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
And I just remember, you.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
Know, coming off the field after that, I put my
I put my fist.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
I have a picture actually funny enough.
Speaker 5 (26:49):
I put my fist in the air and I put
the number one up like I held it like we're
number one. As I ran off the field after that,
and just just like kind of of that normally kind
of those flood of emotions, kind of coming in and
accepting those you know, accepting those moments because I think
(27:10):
in your mind as a player, you don't ever want
to count your chickens before they're hatched, right, no doubt.
But at that moment, a beat poke through on That.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Was the moment in Jurassic Park where the dinosaur broke
through the egg.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (27:29):
That was the moment where I was like, you know what,
I can embrace this. I can really really embrace this.
And then of course you know that moment and then
of course, the ensuing drive. I believe that was the
one where they're driving defensively, and then I get the
interception if I'm not if I'm not mistaken, and we're
(27:53):
on the sidelines. Marvel and I funny enough that WEX
brought up Marvel. We're getting the gatorade cooler ready, and
we're trying to sneak up and and and and and
and and dowst coach Cower and I remember vividly, now
here's the chain of events at the end of the game.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
I remember we grabbed the gatoraku, who's gonna do? Who's
gonna do? And so Marvel.
Speaker 5 (28:18):
Already had it in his mouth in his mind, but
Marvel still had his mouthpiece it. I was like, mar yeah,
take okay, fine, you know what whatever, And so I
grabbed it. I hand my helmet off to Barrett Brooks.
B Brooks has my helmet. I'm like, hey, hold my
helmet so I can go do this gatoraye dump And
so we go, and we go. We dunk the cooler,
(28:40):
you know, the gatorade on coach Cowra. Marvel is so
exciting he lets go of it. I'm holding on to
the cooler. So so the bottom of the cooler opening
just absolutely just hits Coach Cowra in the back of
the neck like Joseph forward.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Oh, like I'm holding the.
Speaker 7 (29:00):
Corm like, oh god, he's gonna think I did it
by myself. And then and then we get the ball
back and I'm looking around for be Ber, was my help?
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Was my health? So I don't know, I don't.
Speaker 5 (29:14):
Know, and he be Brooks is halfway on the field
strapping his helmet up as he's going on the field
to take my place because he had this plant in
his mind. He had thrown my helmet all the way
underneath the underneath the bench and almost.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Hit the back wall. Uh you just trying to get
rid of it so fast so that.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
He could get on the field for one snap and
he and so I was not on the field for
the final play of the game. Bean Brooks was to
take the final knee in the victory formation.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
I was like, this sure is fantastic. I've never seen
this before.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
But you just dunking coach, I mean perfect, Like he
is drenched in ice like sometimes you know, you do
the ice bat the gatory path, like you barely get
the coach like he is getting baptized, Max, like you are.
Speaker 5 (30:00):
He was completely unaware. He was like, we caught him
completely by surprise.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
Oh he's look on his face.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
It's like it looks like the look you know, and
like you push a toddler into the pool in the
summertime and they have that half second of realization that
they're about to hit the water, like that look on
his face and you and you look like just you
look like just a menace.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Yes, yes, a man. We were so excited.
Speaker 5 (30:25):
We was like, we got him, we got it, because
you know, you see so many coaches they.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Kind of look for it and they're running away from it.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
They kind of skip away from it.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (30:34):
Or you know it's that one when like that, you know,
if you're outside and you're bundled up and that one
piece of snow gets down the back of your shirt
that you kind of arched the back of you kind
of like run forward and do your arms as though
you're like a cartoon character.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Like you know, you get those types. But no coach
caw fully, fully.
Speaker 5 (30:54):
Unaware and just we we we we got him good,
We got him good.
Speaker 3 (30:59):
Best part, Max is everybody is all excited and fired
up and thrilled, and then for whatever reason, Larry Foot
looks like somebody just shot his puppy. Like Larry Foot
is standing right next to you and Coach Cower, and
he looks like it's kickoff, Like he looks like he's
got the game face on. Still not a stitch of emotion.
Oh that's great, what a photo.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah, well, you know, because the defense is still on
the field.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Yeah, right, that's true. He's still in his mind, he
still has a job to do.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
Yeah, He's like, man, do I have to go in
because he just came out for sub package, right, you know,
so it's like, do I have to go back in?
I'm like, man, this drive isn't overweight. Guys, y'all stop celebrat.
We try, we try to stop him.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Uh you know.
Speaker 5 (31:38):
But then, of course, like I said, you know, uh,
you know, the timeliest of plays, man, I comes up
with a big interception in that game, yep, and and
game over after that, and like you said, take the knee,
call it victory at that point. But yeah, it's an
iconic moment and that was actually in the in the
(31:59):
Hall of Fame uh for like years until they redid it.
That picture and had like you know, cut out of
like the gatoray cooler kind of coming out in a
three D type of action with me and Marvel. I
remember when we went up for the what was it
the Hall of Fame game? I believe when you yes,
(32:21):
believe no, no, no, no, this was this was before
this we were still active playing in the Hall of
Fame game.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
I want to say it was against the Saints. I
want to say it was either.
Speaker 4 (32:32):
That the lower messed up his knee.
Speaker 5 (32:36):
Uh no, this this is the one before that. This
is still j Reid. Yeah, Jay Reid is still our kicker.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
I want it was seven.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
I think it was seven season, like like it wasn't
the sixties, it was the following year. And trying to
think it was.
Speaker 4 (32:58):
Steelers have played in the Hall of Fame games seven
different times.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Here, it looks like Hug could have been against the
Saints in two thousand and seven.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Yeah, I think that would happened right now.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Yep, there was. I knew.
Speaker 5 (33:15):
I was like, I think it was a seven season
and so we got to take a tour the day
before when we got up there, and so we went
through the it went through the the you know, the
Hall of Fame because you know, I'd never been at
that point, right, you know, you'd heard about it, you
knew it was in Canton, but that was my first
time going through it.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
And as we.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
Went into the like one of the rooms, it was
like right there, big picture, I'm like.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Holy crap, them in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 5 (33:46):
And it was the moment of us dowsing Coach Kawer
with the gatorade bucket and there's a picture you see
me and you see Marvel like Clear's Day with Coach
Cower and it's like at three D animates, I have
to find the picture.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
I have to show it to you West. But yeah,
that was in the Hall of Fame for for a while.
Speaker 5 (34:02):
As we were taking a picture next to it, I
was like, man, this is pretty awesome.
Speaker 4 (34:06):
That is cool.
Speaker 5 (34:06):
And then you and then I think, and then I
think after that, then you walk into the bus room
and there was you know, all all the all the
busts after that. So it was it was a pretty
cool intro and to see that moment. But yeah, that
moment sticks in my head very very vividly.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
Real quick before and I know we're due for a
break here, but I wanted to make sure to tell
you this because you touched on there a couple of
minutes ago. The enormity of that One for the Thumb
and Max, Like, I can't speak to the the bliss
and the elation and the dedication that you guys have
to work your whole lives to get to that point
to finally win the Super Bowl, right, Like it's the
Jim Mora thing. We might think we know what that's like,
(34:44):
but we don't know. But but what I can't, But
what I can speak to is growing up as a
kid in Pittsburgh during that time when it was the
hunt for the One for the Thumb. That was again
right when I was growing up getting into sports. That
just pure unadulterated fan hood moment of your team age
in your younger years. And dude, that was a real thing,
Like because the Steelers had gotten so close so many times,
(35:06):
like Wolf in that AFC Championship game, lost to Marino,
losing to the Chargers in ninety five in the AFC
Championship Game, going to the Super Bowl in ninety six,
Super Bowl thirty but losing to the Cowboys. You know
those like they a lot of AFC Championship games in there,
the loss at home to Lway, the loss at home
to Brady, you know, for you guys to find like
(35:28):
the magnitude of that whole one, for the thumb, like
cannot be understated.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
What you were talking about.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
It was on T shirts everywhere, It was talked about everywhere.
It was you know, we were the first of four.
Now we got to get back to five.
Speaker 4 (35:41):
Like it was. I can't tell you how big of
a deal it was.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
And you know, you guys had been so close so
many times in the decade leading up to that, and
then to finally get it done, I mean it was.
It was a moment that you know, twenty five years
in the making, that this city had been waiting for.
In the joy, in the in just the the outburst
of celebration was you know, again, I was only fifteen
(36:06):
years old, but I still remember it like it was yesterday.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
Man.
Speaker 5 (36:11):
I think I think you put it appropriately, like it
was something that, like you said, it is indescribable. And
you know, so many storylines in that game, so many
personal stories attached to that Super Bowl that made that
run so magical because you know, you have to think
(36:35):
about you said it, Larry Foot, Larry Foot's a Detroit
kid as well, right, yeah, you know, just like Jerome.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
You know, he's from Pershing High School.
Speaker 5 (36:43):
Right there, a lot of family, a lot of expectations,
a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Around for that moment for him.
Speaker 5 (36:50):
You know, my personal connection to that Super Bowl, my
mom's from Detroit. She actually went to the same high
school as Larry Foot. Funny enough, she went to Pershing
High School as well. You know, for me, that was
also a very special moment because you know, my father
played the only other Super Bowl in Detroit back in
(37:12):
eighty one, the eighty one season eighty two Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Against the forty nine ers.
Speaker 5 (37:19):
He made he still goes down as the only guy
to ever sack Joe Montana in the Super Bowl and
their four super Bowls. My pops his his former teammate
because they were teammates in college at Notre Dame together,
you know, took Joe down in that Super Bowl and
we practiced in the Pontiac Silver Dome all week. So
(37:40):
there was a lot of lot of different stories, and
of course obviously the biggest.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
One was Jerome bringing Jerome home wearing the.
Speaker 5 (37:46):
Number six jerseys, like Wex said off off of the
plane to celebrate Jerome for coach Cower coming ten years later.
You know, losing Super Bowl thirty now on Super Bowl
forty is like, you know, the space in between Super
Bowl appearances, Willie Williams being the only Steelers player that
(38:06):
was on the thirty team that was now still on
the forty team. To be there and to finally get one,
I mean, there was just so many different iconic moments
we can look back on that led to this being
that moment for us and a truly special one. And
like you said, the pressure that now comes off of you,
(38:27):
dude by finally getting that one for the thumb Max.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
No matter what you guys did, no matter how great
you were, it didn't matter if you didn't win a
Super Bowl. Like that's where and that's where, that's the
standard that we love is Steeler fans, Right. But man,
that time period, like you guys go fifteen and one
with a rookie quarterback and go to the AFC Championship game.
Speaker 4 (38:47):
Nobody cares didn't win a Super Bowl, you know what
I mean?
Speaker 3 (38:49):
Where like every other fan base would have been through
the roof about that. In fifteen and one with a
rookie quarterback AFC championship game doesn't matter. Still didn't win
the Super Bowl, Like that's the type of expectation that
there were at that time. And for you guys to
kick that door in, it was a man, it was
an all time Pittsburgh moment without a doubt.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
Yeah it was.
Speaker 5 (39:09):
It was and and and you know, and we're gonna
step aside, but we'll continue to talk about this.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
We go on the other side of the brake. Here,
you're inside the locker room.
Speaker 5 (39:18):
We'll be back for the bell lap after these commercial
breaks here on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
This is in the Locker Room, presented by Ford and
brought to you by acro Sure, the official insurance and
cybersecurity partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, by Bett MGM, Huntington Bank, PNC, PEPSI,
and by FedEx. Where now meets next? Now here's Craig
Wolfley and Max Starks when they.
Speaker 4 (40:11):
Finished the half absolutely.
Speaker 8 (40:15):
And the pass over the middle, and that's Stevens and
he's going to drop that one, and that's going to
write an end to it. And you're exactly right, John,
The first half was a mess. At the end, the
end of this drive was a mess. As they ended
on a Neil Daan Polmolo will be the safety valve
here and the Pittsburgh Steelers seven and five and wouldn't
(40:39):
have made the playoffs two months ago, run the entire
table with eight wins regular and post all of them
in postseason.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
On the road, Bill Cower was saying that he wanted
to get this one.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
Dude.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
You have owner Dan Rooney his fifth Super Bowl rang.
Speaker 5 (41:00):
He did that, oh man, and just think about that man,
the iconic John.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
And al michaels Man.
Speaker 5 (41:11):
Yeah, I mean, that's that's a pretty that's a pretty special moment, man,
you know, the legend that he is, and of course
a Raiders coach who had to play against the Steelers
back in the day during those other Super Bowl runs.
Making that call and then, like you said, finally completing
(41:34):
the hand, you know, putting a ring on the thumb,
and then of course we know what happened after that.
It was one for the other thumb, and you know
all this stuff because of course our fans are insatiable
when it comes to that. I don't blame him, you know,
high standard set in the Steel City and that's just
that's a great moment, and you know, it's funny, I've
(41:56):
actually never heard that call, So for me, that's the
first time I'm hearing the mad Michael's call, because I'm
always used.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
To hearing Billy's call, right, you know.
Speaker 5 (42:07):
So, yeah, you don't think about the national broadcast of
it and what they said in those moments. So it's
funny to kind of live relive that moment, but live it.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
For the first time.
Speaker 5 (42:19):
Considering all the times I've talked about Super Bowl forty,
that's the first time I've actually heard that.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
So thank you Wes for no problem.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
Yeah, I want to, you know, And again I'm kind
of the same way, like we always go to the
well of the Billy Hillgrove calls and why would you not?
But I think sometimes too to just kind of, you know,
paint the the memory of nineteen years ago. It's nice
to hear the al Michaels and of course the late
great iconic John Madden there and talking about the late
great iconic Dan Rooney as well. Just a lot of
(42:48):
nostalgia in that kind of last national clip there. So
I thought that that'd be a good way to close
it down.
Speaker 5 (42:54):
Yeah, No, that's definitely an excellent way to close it down.
Of course, as we celebrate today the nineteenth anniversary. On
this day historical moment, my teammates and I brought back
a sticky Lombardi to the city of Pittsburgh, and man,
(43:16):
it gives me goosebumps, and looking.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
At my arm, I'm like, man, this is yeah. To
believe I did that. You know, sometimes you kind of
you know, you remember.
Speaker 5 (43:23):
It, yep, but to kind of like live it, embrace
it and just go back in your mind at all
those moments.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
Pretty special.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
Okay, Max, real quick for you, and I know we're
due to get out of here, but you'll love this
story too. I'm a freshman in high school, right, fifteen
years old when you guys got the one for the thumb,
And my mom was like adamant, like, I'm taking my
son to the parade, right, like this is happening, Like
who knows, it's been twenty five years, who it could
be twenty five more years. I'm taking my son to
the parade. My mom came to pick me up from
(43:52):
school and they said, does your son have an excused
absence to leave? And my mom and her panic said,
oh yeah, I'm just taking him to the doctor's office.
And so we leave the school and everything my mom
with me, and my mom God bless her heart, lovely
lady that she is. She felt so guilty the entire
(44:13):
drive downtown. She called the school secretary office to tell
him that she lied. She was like, I'm so sorry.
I'm actually taking my son to the super Bowl parade.
I just I don't know why I lied. I shouldn't
have done that. I just didn't want him to get
in trouble in the secretariat. And the secretary of our
high school was like, I totally figured you were lying
to me. It's fine, go to the parade. Absolutely take
(44:33):
him to the parade. I still love, We still love
telling that story about how my mom lied and then
felt so bad. Like fifteen minutes later in the car,
my mom's calling the school office to be like, I'm
really sorry, I lied.
Speaker 4 (44:46):
I'm actually taking him to the super Bowl parade.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
Zoom was guilt.
Speaker 5 (44:51):
Amusing my daytime minute to call you right now, because
that's also that era, Like yeah.
Speaker 3 (44:57):
Her little brick, her little brick cell phone everybody had
back in two thousand and six. She's like, I'm really sorry,
Please don't take it out on my son. I just
wanted to take them to the parade, and uh, hey,
God a great bowl man.
Speaker 4 (45:11):
God bless God, Bless my mom.
Speaker 3 (45:12):
Max. Can you see why I'm sports obsessed the way
I am where I get it from.
Speaker 5 (45:18):
Yeah, absolutely, of course, still that sense, that sense of
righteousness as well, which we can appreciate, right absolutely, was.
Speaker 2 (45:27):
Like, Okay, I can't. I can't live with this lie.
I gotta let it. I gotta let this truth be told.
Speaker 3 (45:31):
Good Christian lady. She could not have that on her
conscience when she was about to go celebrate Super Bowl forty.
Speaker 2 (45:36):
All right, yeah exactly.
Speaker 5 (45:38):
It's like it was like, listen, I don't want this
to be the turning point with Saint Peter's and me
getting through the pearly gates.
Speaker 2 (45:44):
Okay, so let's go ahead, and.
Speaker 5 (45:47):
Let's let's go ahead and just get just get everything,
make it, make everything square.
Speaker 2 (45:50):
Let's get back to zero.
Speaker 3 (45:51):
She told her. I, she said, Mom, Mom, we all
know the Good Lord is a Steelers fan.
Speaker 4 (45:55):
All Right, you're fine, don't worry about it.
Speaker 2 (45:57):
Yeah, exactly exactly. Jesus Jesus.
Speaker 5 (46:00):
His favorite pro team is the Steelers, and of course
his favorite college team, of course.
Speaker 2 (46:04):
Is Notre Dame.
Speaker 5 (46:05):
Uh, if you let Golden domers tell it. But but no, man,
this has been a fun show.
Speaker 2 (46:10):
This has been a great time. Man.
Speaker 5 (46:11):
Of course we will still keep it, keep it going.
We still got two more days left and so we
will be bringing the action live into you. Of course,
I'll be down at Radio Road today. I'm sure it's
gonna be a mad house. Yesterday SpongeBob showed up and
uh and the Nickelodeon folks. They were giving away the
little slime helmets and stuff like that. So it's pretty
(46:34):
crazy now. I can only imagine what's going to be today. Obviously,
Bounty has A has a very cool setup. So hopefully
I'm gonna get down there today a little bit earlier
and I will uh, I will.
Speaker 2 (46:45):
Let you know how the wings are.
Speaker 5 (46:46):
They have a place called House of Wingman patch to it,
so you know what goes better with Bounty paper towels,
the quicker Piper upper right, and then some good old
saucy wings. So the visit Pittsburgh's by the way, and
they were giving away Prantle's yesterday. They were giving away
items from Prantl's Bakery. I think today is gonna be perogis.
(47:08):
So I'm like, yeah, I want to make it down there.
Try a little simple make it.
Speaker 2 (47:11):
Up because I've never had those before.
Speaker 3 (47:13):
Yeah, making up for all the food that Wolf and
I normally get here that we taught you about. This
is your this is your payback now.
Speaker 5 (47:20):
Oh, this is my payback because I had I had
a spicy pimento cheese like dip yesterday from the Louisiana
Host Committee Board. Cheese curds had left from Lambeau because
of the draft being there this year, So they had
cheese curds and something called bou Ya soup, which is
like a chicken and oxtail soup that they slow simmer
(47:41):
for like twelve to thirteen hours. So, I mean, there's
a there's a good little freebie goodies food wise.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
If you're a media guy down there.
Speaker 5 (47:49):
So I will go give you a full report and
I'll let you know how how good everything tasted. All right, well,
all right, everybody, that was a show today. We did
not even play the bell lap sounder. We didn't thank you,
thank you. That is not the early lunch morning system.
(48:10):
You are now late. We are five minutes past lunchtime.
Get out there, go make it a great day.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
We'll see you tomorrow.
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